1. Field
The present disclosure relates to operating retail stores and, in particular, to a method of locating and purchasing non-displayed items in retail stores.
2. Description of Related Technology
With the development of new technologies, online shopping has now become a popular option for many. As a result, traditional retailers who operate physical stores are now facing a new competition under different rules. For example, for similar operation costs, internet retailers are able to provide customers the option to choose and compare products from a much larger inventory compared to traditional retailers, because internet retailers simply do not have to physically display their merchandise in a showroom. Rather, internet retailers can simply stack up their merchandise in a storage room elsewhere to save space and display their products through pictures and photographs displayed on a website. Such greatly lessened space restraint allows online retailers to offer more variety to their customers while the convenience of shopping off of a single computer screen provides customers with an easier shopping experience despite the larger inventory.
However, this is not to say that traditional retailers have completely lost the competition against internet retailers. Despite the growing number of internet retailers and the availability of products available for sale online, consumers may still prefer to shop at traditional retailers for a number of reasons. One of such reasons is that traditional retailers offer the option to physically observe a product in real-life before purchasing, whereas such an option is not available if shopping online. This option of being able to physically observe a product before purchasing can be more important for some products than others.